The present disclosure relates to vehicle key fobs, and particularly relates to a sliding or slide actuated key fob for a vehicle.
Portable remote transmitters or key fobs for vehicle keyless entry systems are commonly used to remotely control various vehicle functions. For example, the key fob can include multiple vehicle function switches to remotely accomplish such activities as, for example, locking and unlocking the doors of the vehicle, opening the trunk and/or operating a powered door. Typically such key fobs are button-based designs which require the user to press a button to remotely activate a function on a vehicle. For example, a common vehicle key fob includes a lock button, an unlock button, a trunk unlock/open button and a panic button. A user simply presses the appropriate button to activate a desired function (e.g., unlock vehicle doors) and then the key fob transmits a vehicle function request, whether pressing of the button was inadvertent or not.
One problem which has been associated with such conventional key fobs is that the buttons are prone to inadvertent actuation. Such inadvertent actuation can occur as the key fob is placed in a purse of a user, as the user performs other activities with the key fob in his or her hands, or as a result of being compressed while in a pocket of the user. The misoperation of a key fob function can unintentionally open a powered tailgate, for example, and therefore case damage (e.g., if the powered tailgate opens into a garage structure or door) and/or make the vehicle insecure without the owner's knowledge. Also, the battery may become inadvertently drained due to prolonged accidental button presses. For example, the key fob may reside in a user's pocket or purse and may be situated such that one or more of its buttons are held in or repeatedly pressed unknowingly by the carrier. This can result in the battery of the key fob undesirably draining.
To deal with inadvertent actuation, some manufacturers employ a sliding door or openable cover that prevents the key fob's buttons from being pushed accidentally. However, these types of key fobs are more cumbersome to operate in that they require the user to first open the door or cover to reveal the buttons and then subsequently press one or more of the buttons to activate a function remotely on the vehicle. In addition to being relatively more cumbersome, this process of opening a door and then pressing a button is more time consuming.